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pushinforty
Sep-18-2005, 7:36pm
I don't get it. I can't seem to get the same volume or clarity when I'm standing up. I miss more notes.

I have noticed that when I'm sitting down and playing with a strap I tend to angle the mandolin about 30 degrees away from my chest (the headstock is at 10 o'clock if my chest is the center of the clock face). When I try to do this standing up perhaps I have to much muscle tension/pressure in the left hand to get the mando in the desired position? Do I have a technique problem here?

Michael

Jon Hall
Sep-18-2005, 8:14pm
I agree that it's harder to play standing up. Although I don't know all of the mechanics involved I'm certain my lap tends to stabilize my mando and keep it from moving around. A protruding "pot" belly might compensate to some degree. I'm sure the "pot" will be easier to attain than a smooth tremelo!

arbarnhart
Sep-18-2005, 8:56pm
I think it is just what you get used to and are therefore most comfortable with. I am a porch picker and I am in absolute agreement that sitting is easier - for me because that's what I do most of the time. But if I practice standing up, it gets easier after a few awkward false starts. I imagine I would get used to it.

fredfrank
Sep-18-2005, 9:01pm
I actually prefer to play standing up, since I practice walking around the house. A lot of the people I jam with like to sit, but that hurts my back after a while.

John Flynn
Sep-18-2005, 9:18pm
I guess its what you get used to. Curtis Buckhannon does some of his perfomances standing up, and he never uses a strap. He just sort of "cradles" his A-2 when he plays. He sounds just as good standing as he does when he's sitting down.

I use a strap both sitting and standing. I have the strap lenth so that the position is roughly the same in both modes.

I can play equally poorly both ways! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

mandocrucian
Sep-18-2005, 10:33pm
A lot of players have their straps too short, which pulls the instrument flat against the belly or chest when it's more ergonomically efficient to have the neck angled forward as if you were walking through the woods with a shotgun. #The left elbow should just hang straight down or be a little forward of the body; you don'y want the tip of the elbow pushed rearwards to the vertical plane of the back, or even past that. (Yeah, Chris Thile the contortionist.... I wouldn't use his posture as a model. - I'm sure someone will bring that up as a counterargument.)

NH

Peter Hackman
Sep-19-2005, 2:30am
I don't get it. I can't seem to get the same volume or clarity when I'm standing up. I miss more notes.

I have noticed that when I'm sitting down and playing with a strap I tend to angle the mandolin about 30 degrees away from my chest (the headstock is at 10 o'clock if my chest is the center of the clock face). When I try to do this standing up perhaps I have to much muscle tension/pressure in the left hand to get the mando in the desired position? Do I have a technique problem here?

Michael
Do whatever suits you best.

In the old days there was often only one microphone, for the singer. To take a solo you had to raise your instrument
to that level (look at old Pictures of Monroe,
e.g. the recent in memoriam thread)
something I never managed to learn. This problem
does not exist today.

250sc
Sep-19-2005, 7:02am
A tonegard might help your volume problems while standing.

mando bandage
Sep-19-2005, 7:34am
I tend to use a bit of pressure from my right forearm on the rim of the body to keep the back away from my belly. You'll get a bit of damping from the forearm, but nothing like the damping you get from the breadbasket. Haven't tried a tone guard, but it seems like it would work well. I have discovered that playing in a sport coat (a la Big Mon) can work real well if you keep your hard shell eyeglass case in your right breast pocket. Low rent tone guard effect I'd bet.

Experiment!

R

Jim Gallaher
Sep-19-2005, 9:32am
I switched from an "over the right shoulder" strap position to an "around the neck" strap position to provide better weight balance. It took some of the pressure off my left arm and made the standing position more comfortable for me.

earthsave
Sep-19-2005, 12:22pm
When sitting I can sit the side on my lap and not the back on my chest as is when I stand. I can also get better control. When standing, and letting the mando not rest on my chest, it'll sometimes go up and down with my picking as it is not anchored.

Best way to get more comfortable playing standing up is to play standing up, which means practicing standing up.

ira
Sep-19-2005, 7:28pm
it is all what you are used to. when i play/practice alone, i generally sit, unless i am practicing for a gig, then... regardless of if alone or with others, i will stand as that is what i do live. it is a very different feel, altering my right hand/wrist/arm mechanics significantly. mixing it up from sitting to standing, has allowed me to get better both ways.

Zed
Sep-19-2005, 9:42pm
I keep the mando jacked up pretty high so it straps on the same whether i'm sitting or standing. I play standing 99.9% of the time anyway so it'll be natural during a gig.

Bluegrasstjej
Sep-20-2005, 3:51am
I think it's almost easier to play standing up, don't know why. When I got my F-style mandolin it was hard at the beginning, because the neck and head is heavier so it sort of slipped downwards when I was standing up and I had to hold it in place with my hand. I've gotten used to it somehow though, so now I have no problem standing up even with the Gold Tone. I mostly stand up when playing at jams (because after I bought my Gold Tone I've only played at festival jams where there are no places to sit down) and I practice a lot walking around the house, as someone else here did.

What is a toneguard?

250sc
Sep-20-2005, 7:13am
Bluegrasstjej, do a search on tonegard (the mis-spelling is intentional).

Pete Counter
Sep-20-2005, 9:05pm
I also play with a stap over the right shoulder and keep the mando somewhat high. I spend probaly 50% of playing time on stage and cant tell much difference.

dave waite
Sep-23-2005, 8:17pm
I just recently started paying attention to this. When I sit down I elevate my left leg & rest the point on the upper treble bout on my leg, taking all weight off of the left hand. When I stand up, I can't do that, so I found that I end up resting the neck in my left hand. I also end up with #the neck at #a lower angle & lower overall in relation to my body than when sitting. What I did to adjust is:
I sat down & did my normal position
I TIGHTENED my strap so that it stayed at the same level when I stood up.
I make an effort to keep the same angle in the neck when standing by putting LIGHT pressure with my right forearm on the rim.(I have an arm guard). This requires occasional adjustment as I feel it slipping down over time.
Lastly, but I think it is really helping, is that when I am playing sitting, I start off playing WITHOUT resting the point on my knee for a while, so that it really simulates the standing position. I just let it rest against my belly & forget about tone/volume, concentrating on getting the most stable, comfortable, stress free position possible.(A tone guard on my list)
I still feel more comfortable sitting & when I play something really demanding, I do go back to resting it on my knee, but I am allready alot more comfortable standing than before. Hope this helps.
Dave

Steve G
Oct-05-2005, 10:13pm
Yea boy! Just played a gig last Saturday standing up after practicing for weeks sitting down. I can't believe I didn't think about it. What a bike wobble. Were in the heck did I leave those training wheels? First gig in a few months. Coulda Shoulda Woulda. Fortunately I pulled it off but sure noticed the difference from the git go. Especially on the tremelo and triplets. Sunday I sat down. Whew.